The following disclosure relates, in general, to atmospheric water reclamation systems, and, more particularly, to systems for reclaiming water from the air utilizing graphene oxide (GO).
Water reclamation systems utilize some type of mass that has a temperature lowered below the ambient atmospheric temperature. The water vapor in the air is passed over the surface of this mass to allow the water vapor to condense. This condensation is then collected as water. This area of technology is generally referred to as Atmospheric Water Generation (AWG). This type of condensation of water vapor on cold surfaces is fairly inefficient.
It is important to recognize two fundamental energy costs in current AWG. The first is the latent heat of condensation when water vapor turns into liquid. The released heat is significant, about 2500 Joules per gram of water, and must be removed by the cooling system. However, in addition to condensing water, currently available AWG systems cool all the air that passes through. This cost and energy is like running an air conditioner outside.